LeBron James‘ looming free agency is a huge deal. It’s the kind of move that could potentially shift the balance of power in the NBA, and it’s so important that the Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly letting LeBron’s potential free agency impact the way they approach a potential trade involving Kyrie Irving.

But according to Chris Sheridan, there’s one team we can cross off of the list of having a chance at signing LeBron if he hits the open market: the Cleveland Cavaliers. Sheridan claimed that LeBron is 100 percent leaving Cleveland next offseason, a claim that was shot down by someone who spoke to LeBron’s inner circle.

So Sheridan isn’t necessarily wrong — LeBron’s people obviously have a vested interest in making him look good by any means necessary. If they didn’t, they probably wouldn’t be close to LeBron, because that would be a bad move on LeBron’s part. It is safe to assume that any report that paints LeBron in a negative light — especially one that says “there is no way he will return to Cleveland next year” — would be rebuked almost immediately.

However, it’s really important to consider the context of Sheridan’s original claim. He said that LeBron has already made up his mind that he’s leaving Cleveland because of his relationship with ownership, which seems odd because if LeBron thinks his best chance at winning a championship is with the Cavaliers, it’s hard to imagine him leaving. Really, this just seems a bit premature, and the kind of thing that can be defended with “oh he changed his mind after this season” even if it doesn’t happen.

Of course if Sheridan got word from someone who would know for a fact that LeBron is absolutely, positively gone after this season, that’s worth reporting. It’s probably just safer to trust the people close to LeBron for now, even if Sheridan thinks that’s not the best idea.

]]>http://uproxx.com/dimemag/lebron-james-final-season-cleveland-cavaliers-rumors/feed/2lebron-why.jpgLeBron Called Out The ‘So-Called President’ While Discussing The Events In Charlottesvillehttp://uproxx.com/dimemag/lebron-james-calls-out-donald-trump-charlottesville-event/
http://uproxx.com/dimemag/lebron-james-calls-out-donald-trump-charlottesville-event/#commentsWed, 16 Aug 2017 13:30:00 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=400747190

Now, LeBron is getting off a Twitter and bringing his criticisms of Trump to an in-person audience. During an event on Tuesday with LeBron and a group of families at an amusement park in Ohio, LeBron got on stage and addressed the crowd. He decided to touch on the president and the events in Charlottesville before he said goodbye, according to Dave McMeniman of ESPN.

Lastly and last before I get off stage, before we all get off stage, I know there’s a lot of tragic things happening in Charlottesville. I just want to speak on it right now. I have this platform and I’m somebody that has a voice of command and the only way for us to get better as a society and for us to get better as people as love. And that’s the only way we’re going to be able to conquer something as one. It’s not about the guy that’s the so-called President of the United States, or whatever the case. It’s not about a teach that you don’t feel like cares about what’s going on with you every day. It’s not about people that you just don’t feel like want to give the best energy and effort to you. It’s about us. It’s about us looking in the mirror. Kids all the way up to the adults. All of us looking in the mirror and saying, “What can we do better to help change?” And if we can all do that and give 110 percent and give both foots forward, then that’s all you can ask for. So, shout out to the innocent people in Charlottesville and shout out to everybody across the world that just want to be great and just want to love. Thank you, and I love you all.

There’s obviously a lot to take in here. Nothing he said is bigger than calling Trump the “so-called President of the United States,” but LeBron also made it clear that he plans on continuing to use his platform to try and improve the world around him. He has made it clear that he wants to do everything he can to help children, both through his foundation and the statements he has made recently, and that he thinks the transformative power of love is the best tool to make society better.

Every superstar gets a spotlight that propels them to the front of the sports world. Everyone who gets this spotlight has the opportunity to do with it what they wish. Instead of running away from it, LeBron James is using his status to try and be the change he wants to see in the world.

]]>http://uproxx.com/dimemag/lebron-james-calls-out-donald-trump-charlottesville-event/feed/8lebronjamesespnracism.jpgLeBron James Tweeted Out A Hot Pasta Take And He’s Very Wronghttp://uproxx.com/dimemag/lebron-james-angel-hair-pasta-take-wrong/
http://uproxx.com/dimemag/lebron-james-angel-hair-pasta-take-wrong/#commentsWed, 16 Aug 2017 01:15:00 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=400747031

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LeBron James is extremely good, both at basketball and social commentary. That is why it pains me so much to see that he has such a bad opinion when it comes to pasta. This tweet made its way into LeBron’s timeline in one way or another on Monday afternoon.

if she uses angel hair noodles for her Spaghetti leave her house immediately

What the heck are you talking about, LeBron James? Angel hair is awesome. I am very mad, and I expect better from LeBron than to have such a bad food take. Here are a list of reasons why angel hair rules:

It is a thin pasta, meaning it lends itself to being covered in lighter sauces, which are unequivocally the best sauces for consuming pasta. Who doesn’t love a nice, light marinara? Or a clam sauce, made with so much garlic and white wine and olive oil and lemon that one bite makes you feel like you’re on a beach somewhere. Even something as simple as some butter/olive oil and parmesan is great! Sure, it doesn’t work for, like, an alfredo sauce, but you should not frequently eat alfredo sauce or else your cholesterol is going to look like a zip code. Eat pasta. Eat angel hair.

Its thinness makes it perfect in any role. Wanna make it a side? Go ahead, have a nice, small bowl as a side while you consume a meal. Put it under a chicken breast that has been pounded out and fried golden brown and delicious for a wonderful compliment to chicken parmesan. Or just cook up some meat and veggies and drop it in, and you have a staple of every single guy’s diet.

LeBron’s big beef seems to be that his angel hair gets soupy. Well, LeBron, just don’t overcook the dang noodles! Or just make sure you drain them properly after you cook them! Give ’em a good shake and a toss and don’t take them out until the noodles stop dripping water. Oh, and DO NOT RINSE THEM AFTER YOU DRAIN THEM. It washes away some of the starches makes it harder for the sauce (see point No. 1) to stick on. I know this because on an episode of Chopped once someone did this and Scott Conant nearly ran over to their station and gave them a pedigree. If you’re worried this means it’ll turn into one big ball of noodles, no worries: You’re gonna toss it in the sauce like the guy from Binging With Babish instructed in his Elf video and it’ll come out looking gorgeous.

Have you ever put a ton of angel hair on a fork and slowly ate away at it? It rules and makes you feel like you’re eating some weird fair food, right? Obviously LeBron has never done this. He should. You cannot do this with other pastas that do not congeal as easily. Like you can’t do this with bowties, that’d be weird.

Eat more angel hair, LeBron. Just trust me on this. I will even come to your house and make it for you and hopefully it all works out well. I am just devastated by the fact that you have such a negative view on such a great type of pasta.

Adrian Wojnarowski dropped an interesting nugget on Tuesday morning in a story about how the Cavaliers are approaching a potential Kyrie Irving trade. Basically, Cleveland has shifted their focus from veteran help to getting back a young superstar in exchange for Irving, partly because they’re worried about LeBron James leaving in free agency once next summer rolls around.

Considering where Irving reportedly wants to be traded and the assets those teams all possess, you can make the argument that the return the Cavaliers would enjoy the most is Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis. And as it turns out, there’s a chance that could happen if Cleveland would be willing to take on the contract of Joakim Noah. According to Wojnarowski, that caveat is the reason why this deal is a “nonstarter” so far.

This Irving trade process has been deliberate, and teams believe that the Cavaliers expect more aggressive conversations in September, closer to the start of training camps. Porzingis has emerged as a primary Cleveland target, but that’s a conversation that can occur only with Cleveland’s willingness to unburden the Knicks of the three years and $55 million left on Joakim Noah’s contract. For now, the conversation is a nonstarter for the Knicks, league sources said.

So let’s assume the Cavaliers decide to take on Noah’s contract, the Knicks are on board with building around Irving — who is from New Jersey and would like to play for New York — and this trade ends up happening. This would be the rare deal where neither side wins nor loses, because it would have a ton of pros and cons for both teams.

Cleveland would get a legitimate star back for Irving in Porzingis, but having to deal with Noah’s contract — especially when it already has a ton of money tied up in a big man with a limited offensive game for the next three years in Tristan Thompson — is rough. As for New York, sure, they get out from Noah’s deal, but is it worth moving Porzingis for Irving, especially because Irving could hit free agency after the 2018-19 season.

Basically, it would be one of those rare deals that features two teams swinging for the fences. Now all we need is for this rumor to be true and for the Cavaliers to be willing to take on Noah’s contract and maybe we’ll be onto something.

]]>http://uproxx.com/dimemag/kyrie-irving-cavaliers-trade-rumors-new-york-knicks-kristaps-porzingis-joakim-noah/feed/6joakim-noah.jpgPaul George And The Pacers Are Ready For His Return To Indiana During The 2017-18 Seasonhttp://uproxx.com/dimemag/paul-george-indiana-pacers-return-2017-2018-nba-season/
http://uproxx.com/dimemag/paul-george-indiana-pacers-return-2017-2018-nba-season/#respondTue, 15 Aug 2017 13:00:00 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=400745034

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Paul George‘s breakup with the Indiana Pacers wasn’t messy, but things didn’t end in an ideal manner. George told the Pacers he was going to leave once his contract ended after the 2017-18 season, which led to teams like Boston, Cleveland, and the Lakers reportedly jockeying to obtain his services via a trade. In the end, George got traded to Oklahoma City, and the Pacers got Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis back in return.

When the regular schedule for every NBA team was released on Monday, Pacers fans surely looked for their first home game against the Thunder so they could let George know how they feel. The good news for them is that they didn’t need to look especially hard, because the Pacers tweeted the game out and made sure to take a not-so-subtle shot at George.

George must have seen this and gotten a lot of tweets from Pacers fans who plan to be in attendance on Dec. 13, because he took to Twitter a few hours after this came out to let Indiana fans know he’s excited to return to the Hoosier State.

Yes Indiana, Dec. 13th will be a special night for me too! We all will have different reasons!

This is your latest reminder that no sports league and no athletes do hilariously petty better than the NBA. Anyway, while this game won’t have the animosity of Kevin Durant’s return to Oklahoma City or LeBron James’ return to Cleveland after he joined the Heat, Pacers fans are going to do everything they can to throw George off of his game. It’ll definitely be one to watch.

Donald Trump’s American Manufacturing Council lost one of its members on Monday morning, when Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier announced he was stepping down citing “a responsibility to take a stand against intolerance and extremism.” Thanks to Under Armour’s Kevin Plank, Frazier isn’t the only executive to part ways with the president’s council.

Plank is the founder, CEO, and chairman of Under Armour. He announced his decision to step down from the council in a statement, saying that his company “engages in innovation and sports, not politics.”

I love our country & company. I am stepping down from the council to focus on inspiring & uniting through power of sport. – CEO Kevin Plank pic.twitter.com/8YvndJMjj1

This is not the first time that Plank’s association with the president has made headlines. Back in February, Plank said that he viewed Trump as an “asset” to the country, which led to a handful of Under Armour-endorsed athletes expressing their disappointment in the company’s CEO. Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry issued a response to the comment, as did Dwayne Johnson, who said Plank’s assessment of the president was “divisive and lacking in perspective.”

]]>http://uproxx.com/sports/under-armour-ceo-kevin-plank-leaves-donald-trump-manufacturing-council/feed/6kevin plankAn MLB Pitcher Found Out He Was Traded While He Was In The Middle Of Watching ‘Game Of Thrones’http://uproxx.com/sports/game-of-thrones-mlb-trade-tyler-clippard-houston-astros/
http://uproxx.com/sports/game-of-thrones-mlb-trade-tyler-clippard-houston-astros/#commentsMon, 14 Aug 2017 23:44:25 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=400744633

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Sundays are important for a lot of people, as it is the night where some of us sit on our couches in complete silence for an hour while watching Game of Thrones. One such person is relief pitcher Tyler Clippard, who likely won’t forget this week’s episode any time soon.

Clippard started watching this week’s episode, Eastwatch, as a member of the Chicago White Sox. Fast forward a few minutes and Clippard learned he would finish the episode at a later date, because he was traded to the Houston Astros around the time someone made their grand return to the show.

Rick Hahn called Tyler Clippard to notify him of the trade 35 minutes into Game of Thrones. Clippard has yet to finish the episode.

This deal might have caught the 32-year-old Clippard off guard, as the Yankees traded him to the White Sox just last month. Then again, Chicago is a rebuilding team while Houston is a contender that needs to reinforce its bullpen, so even though Clippard has struggled at times this year — he boasts a 4.27 ERA, 1.295 WHIP, and 4.39 FIP in 51 appearances — this move makes a ton of sense.

Anyway, hopefully Clippard is able to finish this week’s episode sometime soon, as it did a great job setting up for what should be a killer episode next week. And if someone with a sense of humor didn’t play “The Rains of Castamere” while Clippard was in the process of learning about the trade, well, I’m going to be kind of upset.

The NBA’s biggest day of the regular season is Christmas Day, which oftentimes features the most important regular-season games of the year. Beyond that, the league has done its best to give hoops fans as much basketball as it can on another holiday: Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This year, the league will copy its formula from Christmas and give us a rematch of the last three NBA Finals on MLK Day.

While Cavs-Warriors is obviously the day’s marquee game, there are still some really interesting matchups on the schedule. For example, the Bucks-Wizards game could feature two of the Cavaliers’ biggest threats in the Eastern Conference, while the Rockets-Clippers game will mark Chris Paul’s first game back in Los Angeles against his former team.

]]>http://uproxx.com/dimemag/nba-schedule-martin-luther-king-jr-day-warriors-cavaliers/feed/0lebron james steph curryRashad McCants Loves The BIG3 Because It Has None Of The ‘Softness’ Of The NBAhttp://uproxx.com/dimemag/rashad-mccants-love-big3-hates-softness-of-nba/
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To Rashad McCants, this is part of what makes the league so great. The former North Carolina star is now a member of Trilogy, the same squad as White, and he was asked about the moment between White and Oakley during his postgame press conference. McCants explained that this moment might have been hard for fans to watch, because they are used to the “softness” of the NBA compared to the more raw emotion of BIG3.

“You guys are so used to the softness of the league that you’ve never really seen guys argue on the court without the referees jumping in and saying ‘technical, flagrant, lala,'” McCants said. “We actually was out there, it was more satisfying for us to be able to get that out. That’s our passion, our true passion, competitiveness that have been held back for so long because in the NBA it’s not something that they’re accustomed to or they want, because it might get out of hand. But we were able to calm it down and it’s just a part of what we do, it’s a part of what we are.”

This is genuinely an awesome quote from McCants on the fight and a scathing critique of how games are policed in the NBA. From the perspective of fans, refs stepping in and calling technical/flagrant fouls when things are getting chippy is a necessary evil, but McCants is saying the thing that makes BIG3 so great is that the lack of officials means players have to take it onto themselves to calm things down.

Of course, it’s more likely that the NBA gets rid of the three-pointer before it decides to do away with officials, but McCants presented an interesting scenario in which the league looks to players to keep games in check. And who knows? Save for a Malice-at-the-Palace-type scenario, maybe that would work to some extent.

One of the deals that seems to make the most sense for Kyrie Irving involves sending him to Phoenix in exchange for a package that includes rookie wing Josh Jackson. There would be a few other pieces involved — someone like Eric Bledsoe, along with a draft pick or two, makes sense — but Jackson is the kind of young player with immense upside who could make it worth the Cavaliers’ while to trade Irving.

The issue has been that Phoenix really doesn’t want to move Jackson because of his considerable potential and concerns about whether Irving would sign long term when he hits free agency in 2019. There have been a few reports that he’s off-limits in a deal between the two sides, and even Jackson thinks it’s not going to happen.

“I think if that was going to happen, it would have happened by now,” Jackson told Sirius XM NBA Radio, as transcribed by CBS Sports. Jackson continued by saying he’ll play his best wherever he ends up, but that his gut feeling is that he’ll be staying in Phoenix.

“I still don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’ll make the best of whatever situation I’m presented with. If I’m traded to China, whatever, I’m going to come out and be happy and just try to make the best of it. … I was kind of in the dark a little bit, but I got a feeling that the trade really wasn’t going to happen.”

This logic does make sense — Irving told the Cavaliers he wanted to get traded about a month ago, so Cleveland has had plenty of time to go out and try to work on deals. Even though the Suns couldn’t move Jackson until one month after he signed his rookie deal, that passed on August 4, so Phoenix has been free to move him for nine days and it hasn’t happened yet.

Anything can happen before the season starts, so it’s still possible that Jackson could get moved in a move that lands Irving if Phoenix has a change of heart. As for the reports that he had been promised he wouldn’t be traded, Jackson said “those words haven’t been said,” but still, Jackson’s assumption that he would have been moved right now if he was on the table seems safe.

In total, 17 teams got helmets thanks to the Kings: Atlanta, Brooklyn, Charlotte, Golden State, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, New Orleans, New York, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, Toronto, and Utah. Each team got three helmets that correspond with their logo and colors, and all of them look awesome. Still, some stand out, like these ones the Kings made for themselves.

It’s not a stretch to say that there’s a ton of optimism among the future of the Los Angeles Lakers. This is especially true when it comes to their young 1-2 punch of Brandon Ingram and Lonzo Ball, a pair of back-to-back No. 2 overall draft picks. Ingram is a smooth scorer on the perimeter, while Ball came to the franchise with a ton of hype.

Part of this is because he’s a native of Los Angeles, but it’s also because his style of play is so similar to an all-time Laker great: Magic Johnson, who of course is the team’s president of basketball operations. Ball is a prodigious passer with an uncanny feel for the game and the unique ability to set his teammates up all over the floor, all talents that Johnson also possessed.

This comparison has been thrown around a little, and another ex-Laker agrees with the assessment. TMZ caught up with James Worthy, who heaped praise onto Ball’s game.

“He enhances everybody on the court,” Worthy said. “We haven’t had someone with that type of talent really since Magic.”

This is a big statement since, you know, the Lakers have had a ton of talent since Johnson retired. But Johnson really wants these massive expectations to be put on Ball, with his logic being that great players embrace the pressure that comes from being a superstar, so he was probably stoked that Worthy believes the hype around the Lakers’ young point guard.

Towards the end of his tenure, Jackson tried to do something a little unusual. He wanted to expand the palate of NC State guard Dennis Smith Jr. During a pre-draft visit, Jackson and Smith went to grab a bite to eat, and Smith told the New York Daily News about a weird moment between the two.

“We went out to some restaurant and they had me eat some octopus, like an actual octopus tentacle,” Smith Jr. told the Daily News. “First time ever. I wasn’t going to try it, honestly. They kind of put the pressure on me to do it.”

Jackson must not like how Smith, uh, consumed the octopus tentacle, because the Knicks ended up selecting French point guard Frank Ntilikina with the No. 8 pick in the draft. Smith, who we selected as one of our top performers from Summer League, ended up going one pick later to the Dallas Mavericks. This may ultimately just be a funny footnote on the end of Jackson’s tenure, but it’d be something if 15 years from now, we learn that Jackson passed on Smith because he didn’t like how he ate an octopus tentacle.

A statement by Donald Trump in response to the scene didn’t seem to condemn the actions of the Nazis/white nationalists, which led to LeBron James taking to Twitter to express his frustration with the President of the United States. LeBron particularly called out Trump’s “Make America Great Again” rhetoric.

It's sad what's going on in Charlottesville. Is this the direction our country is heading? Make America Great Again huh?! He said that🤦‍♂️

We’ve written about how socially conscious LeBron is plenty of times in the past, and one thing he has frequently done is comment when he sees injustice in the world. This happened again on Saturday, and it’d be surprising if he doesn’t continue to speak out, even if the target of his criticism is the President.

]]>http://uproxx.com/dimemag/lebron-james-tweets-america-deserves-better-than-donald-trump/feed/21lebron-trump.jpgThe Buccaneers Waived The Kicker They Traded Up To Draft In The Second Round A Year Agohttp://uproxx.com/sports/tampa-bay-buccaneers-waived-roberto-aguayo-2016-nfl-draft-second-round/
http://uproxx.com/sports/tampa-bay-buccaneers-waived-roberto-aguayo-2016-nfl-draft-second-round/#respondSat, 12 Aug 2017 22:05:08 +0000http://uproxx.com/?p=400741237

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Roberto Aguayo’s time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers has come to an end. The team announced on Saturday that it had parted ways with the kicker after Aguayo missed two field goal attempts in a preseason game against Cincinnati on Friday.

This marks the end of Aguayo’s bizarre tenure in Tampa Bay. Aguayo is inarguably one of the best kickers in college football history. A three-time first-team All-American and All-ACC selection who skipped his senior year to head to the NFL, Aguayo went 69-for-78 on field goals and made all 198 PATs he attempted during his time at Florida State.

While most kickers usually have to wait until later in the draft to hear their names called or latch onto a team in free agency, Aguayo was selected by the Buccaneers in the second round with the 59th overall pick. Even more surprising was that Tampa Bay actually traded up to select him, giving up their third and fourth-round selections for Aguayo.

But like many college stars, Aguayo’s success just did not translate to the NFL. He went 22-for-31 on field goals during his rookie campaign and missed a pair of PATs, which was a far cry from being nearly automatic during his collegiate days.

Having said all of this, while Aguayo was fantastic in college, the Bucs drafting him in the second round was a head-scratching move that looks even worse now. That’s not even considering the fact that they gave up two picks in the rounds immediately following the second round to move up and select him, which really is incredible.

The good news for Aguayo is that kickers bouncing back as their careers go on isn’t unheard of, and he’s only 23, so he very well could have a long career ahead of him. For now, though, he’s going to have to convince a team that the struggles he had during his one season in Tampa Bay are something he can shake.